Defining Organizational Communication: Models and Approaches, Slides of Organizational Communication

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CH. 2 DEFINING ORGANIZATIONAL

COMMUNICATION

DR. NIKKI NICHOLS

DEFINING ORG COMM

 Most organizations practice org comm

 Organizations have different needs, cultures, functions, etc.,

therefore there are many ways to define org comm

 Although the definition may vary by organization, definitions

are important bc they sum up what needs to be done

1. INFORMATION TRANSFER MODEL

 “the exchange of information and the transmission of

meaning.”

 views communication as a metaphoric pipeline through which

information flows from one person to another.

 communication is a tool that people use to accomplish their

objectives

MODEL’S MAIN ASSUMPTIONS

 (^) Language can transfer thoughts and feelings from one person to another.  (^) Speakers and writers insert thoughts and feelings into words.  (^) Words contain the thoughts and feelings. MEANING IS IN THE WORDS  (^) Listeners or readers extract the thoughts and feelings from the words.

CRITICISMS OF THE INFORMATION TRANSACTION MODEL

 Some argue that it is simplistic and incomplete, making

communication too linear.

 Considers the receiver as a passive participant in the comm

process.

 Nonverbal communication is not considered

2. TRANSACTIONAL PROCESS MODEL

 (^) Sender and receiver of messages are not defined, rather, people play both roles simultaneously.  (^) verbal and nonverbal feedback are importanT.  (^) Differs from the information-transfer model because it assumes that:

1. The meaning of the message is in PEOPLE.
2. The focus of the message is on how the message is received.
3. Leadership is a focus here

3. STRATEGIC-CONTROL APPROACH

 (^) Communication as a tool for influencing and shaping the environment.  (^) Greater clarity is not necessarily main goal of interaction.  (^) Communicators may have multiple goals and therefore must choose the most effective strategies to achieve them.  (^) Although people may have reasons for their behavior, they do not always communicate in an objective or rational way.  (^) “Effective” communication is focused on meeting goals through language use that is sensitive to the situation.  (^) Shared meaning can not be “proven,” therefore not a primary motivation for communication.  (^) The primary goal of communication is organized action.

INCLUDES STRATEGIC AMBIGUITY

 (^) refers to unclear communication that still accomplishes the goals.  (^) Strategic ambiguity accomplishes the following:

1. It promotes unified diversity by taking advantage of the diverse meanings that different people can give to the same message.
2. It preserves privileged positions by shielding those with power from close scrutiny by others.
3. It is deniable; that is, the words seem to mean one thing, but under pressure they seem to mean something else.
4. It facilitates organizational change by allowing people to change their activities while appearing to keep those activities consistent.

4. BALANCE OF CREATIVITY & CONSTRAINT APPROACH

 (^) sees organizational communication as a dichotomy between how employees communicate to create and shape organizations (the micro perspective) and how the constraints that organizations place on that communication impact employees (the macro perspective).  (^) Giddens’s theory of structuration: communication process is not viewed solely as what employees say to one another inside organizations but instead as how people organize, deal with conflicting goals, manage multiple meanings, and deal with ongoing communication, ambiguity, and change.  (^) Structuration theory focuses on the duality of structure: structures are products of communication practices while also being bound by the rules that constructed them in the first place

 (^) Communication is seen as the moment-to-moment working out of the tension between individual creativity and organizational constraint.  (^) Out of this balancing act, creativity often emerges as the strategic response to organizational constraints.  (^) The main advantage to this approach is the ability to consider enabling and constraining aspects of communication simultaneously.

5. SITUATED-INDIVIDUAL APPROACH

 (^) the notion that individuals are situated in multiple contexts, and the situated individual is the person who conducts the social constructing.  (^) The individual is an actor whose thoughts and actions are based on the interpretation of contexts.  (^) Communication is a practice that includes both interpretation and action and thus can reveal sources of creativity, constraint, meaning, interpretation, and context.

ETHICS IN ORG COMM THROUGH DIALOGUE

 (^) Speaking ethically refers to dialoguing according to the systems of rules, duties, and morality used to guide our behavior.

1. Trust one another.
2. Treat each other with respect.
3. Recognize the value of each individual.
4. Keep your word.
5. Be honest w others o
6. integrity.
   7. Be open to change.
   8. Risk failing in order to get better.
   9. Learn; try new ideas.